Symbolism in Heraldry?
Aug. 1st, 2006 08:56 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jducoeurA quick double-check, lest I stick my foot in my mouth.
We got a question on the SCA Questions List, from a fellow who is looking into his family crest, and is trying to understand the symbolism of the positions of the beasts. He says that it has, eg, a crouching dragon and two boars with their snouts raised, and wants to know what that *means*.
My gut reaction is that it doesn't necessarily mean anything -- that the notion of specific symbolism for specific positions is a modern notion that's been imputed to period heraldry. But I Am Not A Herald, and I know a couple of the people here, so I wanted to make sure that I'm correct...
We got a question on the SCA Questions List, from a fellow who is looking into his family crest, and is trying to understand the symbolism of the positions of the beasts. He says that it has, eg, a crouching dragon and two boars with their snouts raised, and wants to know what that *means*.
My gut reaction is that it doesn't necessarily mean anything -- that the notion of specific symbolism for specific positions is a modern notion that's been imputed to period heraldry. But I Am Not A Herald, and I know a couple of the people here, so I wanted to make sure that I'm correct...